Rugby star faces knife charge

A Super 14 rugby star has been charged with a domestic violence incident involving a knife and given name suppression.

The Herald on Sunday cannot name the player or identify the team for which he plays, which has angered domestic violence prevention groups.

The player has been charged with possession of an offensive weapon in an incident involving his partner on April 18, the newspaper has learned.

He was given bail and ordered to reappear before Wellington District Court on Thursday.

His bail conditions include a ban on contacting his partner or going within 100m of her.

An officer connected to the case confirmed the charge involved a knife and that it arose during a "family issue" involving the man's partner.

Club managers are aware the player has been charged and have stressed his name suppression must be observed.

The case has been assigned to a new section of the district court - the Family Violence Court - which was set up in 2005 to deal specifically with domestic violence incidents.

The same style of court discharged All Black Sitiveni Sivivatu in 2007 without conviction.

The judge in that case initially refused to lift name suppression because doing so would go against the court's "therapeutic" approach .

Women's Refuge president Heather Henare said the player in the latest case had to be accountable to the public.

"I don't believe that because he is high-profile that he should be getting any more protection than anyone else," she said.

"It appears that the more profile they have the more protection they have and I don't think they are any different really to any other person."

Henare said the suppression sent a message. "It says if you are a rugby player or a high-profile person or celebrity you get treated differently, and that's wrong because you don't have to be accountable for your actions."

Domestic violence campaigner Ruth Herbert said she would be concerned if suppression was given as a result of someone's profile. "If anybody is going to be a public figure... a politician or a senior doctor... [they] should not be able to hide behind that."

Barrister Jeremy Sutton, who specialises in family law, said the Family Violence Court was a hybrid between the Family Court and criminal courts and aimed to be more rehabilitative.

Sutton said name suppression was "really hard to get" in all courts.

However, he added: "There may be some people in some professions who get name suppression on the basis they have a high public profile, particularly if they defend the charge."

A Law Commission review of name suppression last year stated that high-profile people should be allowed to argue for suppression if publication would cause them "extreme hardship".

At the time, Justice Minister Simon Power said he did not agree and wanted a halt to people using their high profile to get name suppression.